FRAGRANCE | Mercedes-Benz Le Parfum: A confident scent that lacks confidence

From Bentley (with its oh-so-good Bentley for Men Intense), to Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz, car-branded fragrances often surprise me with how good they turn out to be relative to their fairly affordable pricing. I may not be able to afford a Mercedes-Benz sedan but at least I can get myself a bottle of Mercedes-Benz Le Parfum without first poring painstakingly over my finances. 

And speaking of Le Parfum, my, what a handsome-looking bottle this is! With its ombre color design and tasteful combination of shiny and matte chrome finishes, it sure looks classy and more expensive than how much they're selling it for. The cylindrical box is supposedly a nice touch as well but unfortunately mine suffered from being stored too long. The faux leather casing was left peeling and instead of opening like a door, everything just stuck together that I had to rip it apart. Too bad. But at least it's not a multimillion-peso car we're talking about here.

Leather is evident from the very first spray even if it's momentarily buried under a layer of lemony citrus and a mild peppery sharpness. After several minutes, though, the citrus dies down and more of the leather comes through. The pepper, on the other hand, is now muted but not totally gone. To some degree, the leather accord is reminescent of either Tom Ford Ombré Leather or Tuscan Leather, just not as strong, dark, and smoky. Compared to those two, Le Parfum appears brighter and more approachable. 

Although it's the leather that's primarily wafting around, up close and for several long minutes, I also get some plasticky violets. After some two hours, I finally get the listed oud, albeit in a much softer state. It's quite pleasant actually: woody, lightly sweetened, and with nary a hint of anything animalic. Together with what's left of the leather, they slowly fade on my skin, their individual traits blurring by each passing minute. It's rather disappointing, though, how this confident-smelling gentleman starts fairly strong but quickly loses steam and is practically gone in under six hours, give or take. I'm not saying this should be a monster; I just wish it wore its confidence on its sleeve even a tiny bit more.  

 

Overall, Mercedes-Benz Le Parfum is a respectable masculine fragrance despite its less than desirable performance. It has an elegant vibe more suited to formal or business settings. While its scent profile makes it a typical cold weather frag, its generally weak projection unwittingly makes it wearable on warmer days just the same. Oh well, so much for owning a Mercedes.